#4 Kyle Langford — not our worst in possibly our worst

Some guys walk straight into footy, and from day one they, and everybody else, know what their role is going to be. Parish for example, was always going to be a bona fide midfielder from day dot. Zerrett and Heppell, were always going to start on flanks and then move into the middle as fitness / confidence / ability grew. Even Fantasia was probably the same idea, he just happened to excel too much in the first role.

But it’s different when you don’t know if you are going to end up playing ‘tall’ or a ‘small,’ an issue that many of the medium sized guys suffer with in the very early years. Myers looked useless trying to play tall in defence in the early days, and Watson was an awkward third-tall lead up forward when he first came into the team. Even somebody like Crameri, who was trying to make it as a big-bodied half-back / mid, didn’t find his right spot until Hirdy (or maybe it was Cuddles… nah, fark it, give it to Hirdy) saw his potential as a marking forward. None of these guys looked much at age 19.

It’s late, and I know I"m not articulating this very well, but what I"m trying to say is that a young guy isn’t going to excel, when it’s still not clear what type of player he is. In two or three years time, his physical attributes may be quite different to what they are now, and they may end up dictating where he finds his spot.

Anyway, with all that in mind, I think he is travelling pretty damn well, and although he may take a bit longer than some of the other young stars we have running around, I still believe he has the potential to be the pick of the bunch.

That fortnight of vfl form was enough to leave me completely convinced he is a mid who will compliment parish and zerret perfectly, who will work back hard to give defenders a chop out in the air, who will push forward and take marks in mismatches, who will be hard to tackle and capable of finding space in the contest and who will be better on the spread than jobe. People see him get caught twice on the weekend and seize on it but just about everything else he did was silk and damaging.

I definitely see the inside mid in him.

But those hands… Those 50m roosted goals… I wouldn’t write that possibility off just yet, he could end up quite the beast in a few years.

Been in the bus a fair while, kid has IT

Was an early believer and still on the bus… But for every positive right now there is still a question mark. I think you keep him in the seniors because not much more he can learn in the vfl. He will either develop the ability to break those tackles or choose better options or he won’t.

I absolutely put him in the group of young players at the club that will be elite. My question, or doubts, are probably more whether he will be a very good player, great player or top 10% in league elite player.

Tracking beautifully, unless you demand perfection in game 20 at 19.

There are people here who absolutely do.

Will be better than pendlebury.

Worth a look at The Langfords stats this year compared with last.

He has made such a massive step up in performance. And he is doing it predominantly in the centre of the ground. That’s significant.

I’m not going to disagree, because I think he has been doing great, but it’s also true that it’s easier to make more of an inpact on the stats when you play more midfield time instead of up forward (See Rez).

Is not & never will be a midfielder.

His big issue is his accountability to his direct opponent when playing at centre bounces/stoppages.

Time after time he gets burnt by players he either cant physically go with or just refuses to man up.

For mine this has been the reason he was dropped to the 2nds & the very same reason why he might find himself back their again.

He may get away with a with a wing position but again doesnt have pace to track back & forth.

His main weapon is his strong marking & good kicking … & this imo says he must play half-forward.

By all means ‘learn the game’ but its time to settle this guy into a permanent role.

You remind me of Pauline Hanson.

Some of what you say has merit, but the way you say it is lacking in polish.

Worth a look at The Langfords stats this year compared with last.

He has made such a massive step up in performance. And he is doing it predominantly in the centre of the ground. That’s significant.

I am so sold on Langford and have been since NAB Cup last year. Maybe I’m getting carried away by aesthetics, but he just looks like a top AFL player. Even when he doesn’t have the ball. His physique is already approaching AFL prototype stuff, even at 19. The way he moves when running or turning is so smooth. His balance, agility and strength through the core exceptional.

I can see why they see midfield attributes with him. His ability to take possession of contested ground balls in congestion and move through traffic is pretty special. When he is tackled, he is able to free the arms and ride the tackle until an option present. He takes his time to assess options when he has the ball, perhaps a little too much at times, and distributes the ball to advantage. And then there is his kicking and marking, which are both features of his game.

In a couple of years I can see him monstering AFL teams. We got a bit of a taste of what’s to come when he went back to AFL level and treated VFL players with disdain when working the ball out of traffic. At 19 years old nobody could bring him to ground or dispossess him of the ball. I’m a huger fan and can see Langford and Francis alternating between forward and midfield and providing that big bodied presence at stoppages or an aerial threat in the arc.

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This kid could be the new Stanton, Bolton etc…

#Rob Shaw writes article about just picking kids for rest of year.

#Blitz vehemently agrees! Drop old blokes, time for kids, dont care how they go, just have a look at them!

#Kids get picked. Inconsistent results from a few.

#Blitz splitz! Should learn at vfl level. Hasnt got it. Wrong position. Dont see it. Slow thinker. Panic merchant.

We’ve been through a lot over the last few years as supporters. But ffs, some of it is self inflicted.

Tracking beautifully, unless you demand perfection in game 20 at 19.

Some guys walk straight into footy, and from day one they, and everybody else, know what their role is going to be. Parish for example, was always going to be a bona fide midfielder from day dot. Zerrett and Heppell, were always going to start on flanks and then move into the middle as fitness / confidence / ability grew. Even Fantasia was probably the same idea, he just happened to excel too much in the first role.

But it’s different when you don’t know if you are going to end up playing ‘tall’ or a ‘small,’ an issue that many of the medium sized guys suffer with in the very early years. Myers looked useless trying to play tall in defence in the early days, and Watson was an awkward third-tall lead up forward when he first came into the team. Even somebody like Crameri, who was trying to make it as a big-bodied half-back / mid, didn’t find his right spot until Hirdy (or maybe it was Cuddles… nah, fark it, give it to Hirdy) saw his potential as a marking forward. None of these guys looked much at age 19.

It’s late, and I know I"m not articulating this very well, but what I"m trying to say is that a young guy isn’t going to excel, when it’s still not clear what type of player he is. In two or three years time, his physical attributes may be quite different to what they are now, and they may end up dictating where he finds his spot.

Anyway, with all that in mind, I think he is travelling pretty damn well, and although he may take a bit longer than some of the other young stars we have running around, I still believe he has the potential to be the pick of the bunch.

That fortnight of vfl form was enough to leave me completely convinced he is a mid who will compliment parish and zerret perfectly, who will work back hard to give defenders a chop out in the air, who will push forward and take marks in mismatches, who will be hard to tackle and capable of finding space in the contest and who will be better on the spread than jobe. People see him get caught twice on the weekend and seize on it but just about everything else he did was silk and damaging.

wow this kids gets a fair run. I may have mentioned earlier- remove yourselves from all the crap and ask the question does this kid impact a game ( YES OR NO) . Look at his earlier games this year , look at his VFL games look at his 9 score involvements from the weekend. Someone mentioned that he lacks awareness , game smarts and slow thinking- he could not be more opposite. He really is in a debut season ( given his birthday) and I would think how good is this. Yeah he might put in a below average game , but in a physical mans world he’s doing better than OK. He works as hard as any one , have a look at the ground he covers and remember he’s playing to his coaches instructions not ours

Some guys walk straight into footy, and from day one they, and everybody else, know what their role is going to be. Parish for example, was always going to be a bona fide midfielder from day dot. Zerrett and Heppell, were always going to start on flanks and then move into the middle as fitness / confidence / ability grew. Even Fantasia was probably the same idea, he just happened to excel too much in the first role.

But it’s different when you don’t know if you are going to end up playing ‘tall’ or a ‘small,’ an issue that many of the medium sized guys suffer with in the very early years. Myers looked useless trying to play tall in defence in the early days, and Watson was an awkward third-tall lead up forward when he first came into the team. Even somebody like Crameri, who was trying to make it as a big-bodied half-back / mid, didn’t find his right spot until Hirdy (or maybe it was Cuddles… nah, fark it, give it to Hirdy) saw his potential as a marking forward. None of these guys looked much at age 19.

It’s late, and I know I"m not articulating this very well, but what I"m trying to say is that a young guy isn’t going to excel, when it’s still not clear what type of player he is. In two or three years time, his physical attributes may be quite different to what they are now, and they may end up dictating where he finds his spot.

Anyway, with all that in mind, I think he is travelling pretty damn well, and although he may take a bit longer than some of the other young stars we have running around, I still believe he has the potential to be the pick of the bunch.

That fortnight of vfl form was enough to leave me completely convinced he is a mid who will compliment parish and zerret perfectly, who will work back hard to give defenders a chop out in the air, who will push forward and take marks in mismatches, who will be hard to tackle and capable of finding space in the contest and who will be better on the spread than jobe. People see him get caught twice on the weekend and seize on it but just about everything else he did was silk and damaging.

May take a bit longer than some others? Perhaps.

But the only bloke younger who has passed him is Parish, and that kid is a gem.

We are setting some pretty high standards / expectations on The Langford.

Some guys walk straight into footy, and from day one they, and everybody else, know what their role is going to be. Parish for example, was always going to be a bona fide midfielder from day dot. Zerrett and Heppell, were always going to start on flanks and then move into the middle as fitness / confidence / ability grew. Even Fantasia was probably the same idea, he just happened to excel too much in the first role.

But it’s different when you don’t know if you are going to end up playing ‘tall’ or a ‘small,’ an issue that many of the medium sized guys suffer with in the very early years. Myers looked useless trying to play tall in defence in the early days, and Watson was an awkward third-tall lead up forward when he first came into the team. Even somebody like Crameri, who was trying to make it as a big-bodied half-back / mid, didn’t find his right spot until Hirdy (or maybe it was Cuddles… nah, fark it, give it to Hirdy) saw his potential as a marking forward. None of these guys looked much at age 19.

It’s late, and I know I"m not articulating this very well, but what I"m trying to say is that a young guy isn’t going to excel, when it’s still not clear what type of player he is. In two or three years time, his physical attributes may be quite different to what they are now, and they may end up dictating where he finds his spot.

Anyway, with all that in mind, I think he is travelling pretty damn well, and although he may take a bit longer than some of the other young stars we have running around, I still believe he has the potential to be the pick of the bunch.

Paul Peos

You have nailed it

Some guys walk straight into footy, and from day one they, and everybody else, know what their role is going to be. Parish for example, was always going to be a bona fide midfielder from day dot. Zerrett and Heppell, were always going to start on flanks and then move into the middle as fitness / confidence / ability grew. Even Fantasia was probably the same idea, he just happened to excel too much in the first role.

But it’s different when you don’t know if you are going to end up playing ‘tall’ or a ‘small,’ an issue that many of the medium sized guys suffer with in the very early years. Myers looked useless trying to play tall in defence in the early days, and Watson was an awkward third-tall lead up forward when he first came into the team. Even somebody like Crameri, who was trying to make it as a big-bodied half-back / mid, didn’t find his right spot until Hirdy (or maybe it was Cuddles… nah, fark it, give it to Hirdy) saw his potential as a marking forward. None of these guys looked much at age 19.

It’s late, and I know I"m not articulating this very well, but what I"m trying to say is that a young guy isn’t going to excel, when it’s still not clear what type of player he is. In two or three years time, his physical attributes may be quite different to what they are now, and they may end up dictating where he finds his spot.

Anyway, with all that in mind, I think he is travelling pretty damn well, and although he may take a bit longer than some of the other young stars we have running around, I still believe he has the potential to be the pick of the bunch.

Great mark Good kick Very good off the ground Excellent in close

But heavens above don’t include him in a chain of hand passes running in space. I don’t know why, but decision making in those instances seems destructive at best.

Think its more a case of not running like a jet when he has space - Seems to want to duck back into traffic.

I think he'll be fine as long as we manage expectations. I think it's a long shot to expect that he's going to be Fyfe good, or Bontompelli good, or Watson good, or Kennedy good, or Pendlebury good. He does have the capacity to be a really strong, creative player though and maybe if he really works at it we might see something like the above emerge.

He’s going to be really important to us in the future. Heppell, Zerrett, Parish and Zaharakis will form a pretty awesome quartet in the years to come but they’re not the biggest lads going around. We need Langford (and Laverde, ideally Francis as well) to come on so that we can compete with all the teams that are routinely throwing 190+cm, heavily built guys into the middle these days.

I expect him to be as good as some of those players mentioned. He’s had a much better start then Watson and Kennedy and only marginally trailing (stat wise) Pendlebury at the same age. Slow burner for sure but after the few years we’ve had we deserve to be excited about our future.

So anyway. That langford bloke…